The German motorcycle maker had showcased both, the G 310 R and G 310 GS, at the 2018 Auto Expo. Though the G 310 R had also made an Indian appearance earlier (at Auto Expo 2016) this year’s expo marked the India-debut of the GS. The G 310 GS has been developed by BMW Motorrad in Germany and is built at the TVS plant in Hosur, India, like the G 310 R. The baby GS inherits its family's styling, including the stubby front beak, radiator shrouds, headlamp cowl and tank design.

Like the TVS Apache RR 310, the G 310 R and G 310 GS come with a reversed cylinder design that slopes towards the rear wheel, instead of the conventional engine layout. This engine is a 313cc, liquid-cooled, single-cylinder unit with four valves and a DOHC cylinder head. It churns out 34hp of power and 28Nm of torque on both bikes and is paired to a six-speed gearbox. Both bikes also get tubular steel frames, five-spoke alloy wheels and dual-channel ABS; the GS gets ABS that can be disengaged. The kerb weights for the G 310 R and G 310 GS are 158.5kg and 169.5kg, respectively.

The GS gets an upside-down 41mm fork, just like the R. However, at 180mm, the GS has 40mm more travel than the R. While the front suspension is non-adjustable on both bikes, the monoshock does boast adjustable preload. The R (being a sport naked) rides on 17-inch front and rear wheels, while the GS (being the adventure variant) gets a larger 19-inch front wheel and a standard-size 17-inch rear wheel. BMW offers Michelin tyres for the G 310 R, while the G 310 GS gets Metzelers. Brakes on both bikes are identical – a 300mm front disc and 240mm rear disc. The G 310 GS sports the same 11-litre fuel tank as the R. We wish it was offered with a larger-capacity unit, though.

At this price point, the G 310 R is around Rs 57,000 more expensive than its more-powerful rival, the KTM 390 Duke which carries a price tag of Rs 2.42 lakh. The G 310 GS, at Rs 3.49 lakh, doesn’t face direct competition, yet – at least until KTM launches its hugely anticipated 390 Adventure. The only other adventure motorcycles that the G 310 GS goes up against, for now, are the Royal Enfield Himalayan (Rs 1.68 lakh) and the Kawasaki Versys X-300 (Rs 4.69 lakh).